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Issue 39, December 2023
Welcome
Welcome to the last issue of In the Libraries for 2023, where we once again showcase the great diversity of activities, programs and services provided by NSW public libraries. Highlights include birthdays and new buildings, festivals and exhibitions, local studies, health, and wonderful programs for young and old. A great end to the year, and we look forward to hearing more of your wonderful stories in 2024!
In the Libraries is published quarterly and welcomes submissions from public libraries across NSW. Please submit your articles here (maximum of 150 words) and don’t forget to include a photo.
Note: In the Libraries is a companion to the PLS eNews, which features short articles about the work of Public Library Services at the State Library.
Multicultural board games at our Culture Mix festival
Culture Mix Festival: celebrating Wollongong's vibrant community
Wollongong Library hosted the Culture Mix Festival on 21 October. The day celebrated cultural diversity through arts, music, dance, and food. Over 125 stalls, exhibitions and events took place in the CBD, delivered and attended by many communities.
Wollongong City Libraries facilitated 11 workshops in the library including a Korean puppet show, a sensory puppet workshop, Korean craft workshops with illustrator Myo Yim and the Korean Cultural Centre, K-Pop dance workshops with KCC and Love D’fuse, Japanese Taiko drumming sessions by TAIKOZ, Aboriginal weaving workshops by Amethyst Downing, and a sushi workshop with Sushi Hub.
There was a lot of excitement in the room! Over 320 people participated in the workshops – a great cross-generational blend of children, teens, older adults, and people from various communities such as the vision and hearing-impaired. Library visitation was three times higher than usual. The festival was a success, and fortunately, it will be back next year!
Thanoja Fernando, Wollongong City Libraries
Pretty in pink: happy treasure hunt participants Happy birthday to Sutherland!November was a special month for Sutherland Shire Libraries as we celebrated our very happy 70th birthday. What better way to get into the spirit than to spread the word about our fantastic collections, spaces, services, and technologies, and to encourage non-members to take a closer look and join us as we evolve and reimagine the future of libraries. Our Open Day extravaganza on Saturday 18 November was a huge success, attracting an impressive spike in library attendees who came along to enjoy the kids craft, activities, and sausage sizzle. There were even lucky door prizes open to new members who signed up on the day. And our Treasure Hunt for kids and Refer a Friend competitions, along with an innovative promotional campaign, meant that we not only met but exceeded our membership drive targets. As one library regular told us: Sutherland Library is a great resource. Everyone should join!
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Celebrating toys at the library OcTOYber at Randwick celebrates 40 years of toys!Randwick City Library was filled with laughter and cheer on Saturday 28 October, as we celebrated our Toy and Game Library's 40th birthday. The day was jam-packed with fun and excitement, spread across all three levels of our Lionel Bowen Library branch in Maroubra. All the wonderful events, equipment, and facilities we have to offer were put on display. English and multicultural storytime ran throughout the day, as well as slime workshops, party games, face-painting, and Makerspace demonstrations. Come and Play featured a room full of toys for parents and children to get a taste of all our Toy and Game Library has to offer. The excitement was palpable and our Chill Out nook was a relief, and a comfortable place to enjoy the snacks. We had over 300 extra visitors to the library and received fantastic feedback from the community: This was the funnest thing the library has ever done!
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Our new building at Yarrila Place
New library for Coffs Harbour
On 16 September 2023, the Coffs Harbour community opened the brand-new cultural services hub at Yarrila Place.
Named after the Gumbaynggirr word meaning 'to illuminate', it is a space for our community to feel welcomed and be creative. The new library is the biggest service delivery change in 23 years, three times the size of the old library. The library is split over three levels, which includes dedicated spaces for kids and young adults, private study, and local history. The move has also seen exciting additions to the collection, including dedicated special interest collections, board games, STEAM kits and cake tins. The community has responded enthusiastically, with a significant increase in visitation, new registrations and loans. The building also includes Yarrila Arts and Museum, The Digital Studio, The Make Space, Business@Yarrila and meeting and events areas, as well as the City of Coffs Harbours Customer Service point on Level 1.
Kate Simpson, Coffs Harbour Libraries
St Leonards Library official opening Official opening of the new |
Feature staircase at the new library Award winning joint-use library at HilltopsHilltops Council Library in Young moved into a new purpose-built shared facility earlier this year. The new building, a collaboration between Schools Infrastructure NSW, Hilltops Council, Hilltops community and Hayball Architects has just won the Australian Institute of Architecture NSW Country Division Awards for the Public and Education categories, along with a Heritage Commendation. The Hilltops Young High School Library has changed what our community can expect from a library as the public now has access to meeting rooms, reading spaces, a community workshop and gallery which has seen frequent usage since we opened. We have seen a significant increase in membership and visitation and notice that our modern and welcoming new spaces encourage people to spend more time at the library. During the HSC Trials and HSC exams, HSC students used the various study rooms, something we had not experienced at the old library.
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South Australia Deaf Cricket Team, 1919
More than sport: celebrating culture and connection in the Deaf and Hard of Hearing community in Newcastle
Newcastle Library is hosting Australia's first major exhibition celebrating the role of sport in Australian Deaf culture.
More than sport: culture and connection in the Deaf and Hard of Hearing community shares stories about how sport has created a way for people who are deaf or hard of hearing to connect with one another for over 140 years.
In partnership with Deaf Sports Australia, members of the local Deaf community have worked with the library's curatorial team to develop an exhibition that takes visitors on an immersive journey through almost a century and a half of history and champions.
Combining images, objects and archival footage with no sound, this exhibition is a celebration of the people and technologies that have made sport more inclusive and accessible.
The exhibition is on display until February 2024 to coincide with the XIX Australian Deaf Games being held in Newcastle and Lake Macquarie in January 2024.
Megan Owen, Newcastle Libraries
Local history walkers sit on the Geordie log On the move: local history walks at CessnockAt Cessnock City Library, local history walks are an important part of our programming. They are very popular with long-time locals and new tree changers, and getting out in the landscape allows us to tell different kinds of stories which resonate with our participants. The walks are two hours long. The walkers are required to sign a waiver and a media release form to participate This allows us to use the images on our social media platforms to promote further walks and our heritage program in general. Feedback is actively sought and the walks have developed in response to this. Currently we take four walks per year, a mixture of old favourites and a new walk which has never been done before. We are more than happy to share what we have learnt with other libraries. So just reach out to us!
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Finding out about local ecology Local ecology programs at Bega ValleyBega Valley Shire Library ran a popular series of local ecology programs in partnership with organisations including NSW National Parks and Wildlife and the Far South Coast Landcare Association. Guest speakers presented engaging talks on specific local species and ecology topics, including koalas, the glossy black-cockatoo, the platypus, and coastal weeds and treasures. The programs were designed for both children and adults, with the speaker presentations followed by a children's craft activity connected to the topic, which were enthusiastically taken up. The local ecology series provided a great opportunity for the community to come together and learn about our shire's coastal environment and local species. Participants were empowered to become citizen scientists, to observe and connect with nature in our beautiful local area, and to contribute to a sustainable future for our world.
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Our digitisation studio
Oral history digitisation at Georges River
Our local studies collection contains many significant items, including the oral history collection which is stored on audio cassettes and reel-to-reel tapes. Lacking specialised playback equipment and recognising the fragility of the magnetic media, the collection had been inaccessible for many years — until now.
A Community Heritage Grant from the National Library of Australia helped fund a comprehensive preservation and digitisation project with specialist supplier Studio 301. The audio tapes were meticulously cleaned and made ready for archiving before high-quality digital copies were created.
More than 460 oral histories are now freely available online through the Georges River Library catalogue, featuring the voices and recollections of well-known figures like Sir Donald Bradman and prominent families from the region. With the help of the State Library of NSW, select recordings will soon be uploaded to the Amplify platform to allow crowdsourced and AI-generated transcripts to further enhance accessibility.
Steph Gildaly, Georges River Libraries
Not the way you usually have coffee Creative corner for Mental Health Week at RydeRyde Library hosted a Coffee Stain Painting drop-in session for all ages for Mental Health Week with the talented members of AKATA (Australia Korean Art Therapy Association). The library was filled with the wonderful aroma of coffee and the imagination of those creating amazing works of art from the abstract coffee stains. The activity granted attendees a new meditation skill by allowing their subconscious mind to be free to create anything with no expectations. No artistic skills were required, and the artworks simply used coffee, watercolour paper, straws, markers and pencils. Many were surprised by how easy it was to create the art, and how much they enjoyed the simplicity of the technique. The event even tempted some of our studious HSC students to take a short break to recharge their mind. The skills of the visual arts students were especially impressive!
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Enjoying free yoga classes at our Expo Mental Health Month at PenrithPenrith City Libraries celebrated Mental Health Month with the Wellbeing Out West Expo. Partnering with mental health agencies in the area to provide information stalls and programs, we hosted a range of special events throughout the day including yoga, tai-chi, a choir performance, free five-minute massages, mindfulness workshops and author talks. Steve MacDonald, organisational psychologist and high-performance coach, discussed his book Press Pause, offering a structured and mindful approach to self-reflection. Sallyanne Pisk, accredited dietician and mindfulness practitioner, shared her approach to wellbeing that combines mindfulness with practical nutrition and lifestyle advice. Penrith City Libraries also published a Words of Wellbeing booklet, sharing interviews with program partners and wellbeing experts, recipes, reading recommendations from staff, and information about wellbeing programs at Penrith City Libraries.
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Niall de Burca captivates an audience at the renovated Town Hall
Maitland Library buzzing with activity
Maitland Libraries have been buzzing with activity recently, showcasing a vibrant array of events that resonate with our community. A traditional Irish storyteller enchanted local audiences, weaving tales that transported listeners to distant lands and times. Niall de Burca captivated locals of all ages, having performed all over the world. Our newly refurbished and award-winning building provided a perfect venue for Niall to bewitch us with his tales of the fantastic.
We also recently raised a toast to celebrate a century of Vegemite. The Maitland City Library showcased an engaging outdoor exhibition that delved into the iconic spread's history. The team had fun giving out free jars and scrolls to many happy little Vegemites attending, not to mention floating in the fountain on an inflatable Vegemite thong!
Carol Edmonds, Maitland Libraries
Getting puzzled at MidCoast Puzzled? IGM at MidCoast LibrariesInternational Games Month raises awareness of the importance of games in libraries. This year the Taree Branch of MidCoast Libraries decided to go big! We made a giant board game display complete with local place names to encourage our community to come in and get involved during the month. We have joined in the fun of Games Month since it was just a week! We run our annual Puzzle Off competition when our branches compete against the clock (and each other) to complete a puzzle. Some years the puzzle has been difficult like Escher, others quite easy like Where's Wally? Some years the puzzle comp has taken days, others it has been hours. This year for something different we completed a Christmas puzzle. The winning Library for 2023 was Forster Library!
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Young families play Settlers of Catan Board games at Ku-ring-gai LibraryRecently at Ku-ring-gai we've been blown away by the enthusiasm for our new board game collection. Some of the many games to choose from include Codenames, Kemet, Pandemic, Settlers of Catan, Terraforming Mars, and a lot more. The games can be borrowed by members for up to four weeks. We celebrated with a Board Games Arvo event on Sunday 29 October and we were delighted to see so many families turn up and have a go at some new and unfamiliar titles. From over fifty games available, only five remained unborrowed by the end of the event. Based on feedback from visitors, and an extremely positive online response, we're now considering making this a regular event!
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Dani accessing Speers Point Library
Self-access for Lake Mac Libraries
Self-access service is now available at Cardiff Library, kuram, Speers Point Library, milyaba and Wangi Library Creative Hub, wanji wanji.
These venues offer self-access seven days a week between 7am-7pm.
This new initiative provides Lake Mac Libraries' members with greater flexibility and additional opportunities to access our services, allowing members to visit and use library services outside regular staffed hours.
Our libraries are a much-loved community resource. Feedback from our customers, staff and other stakeholders suggested traditional library hours no longer suited some people. Self-access will provide greater flexibility for our users, giving them access to our resources.
The self-access is available for approved Lake Mac Libraries members aged 18 years and over. Borrowers aged 12-17 can apply for self-access at Wangi Library Creative Hub with consent from a legal guardian.
The project was funded by the NSW Government, with assistance from the State Library of NSW.
Gillian Wilson, Lake Mac Libraries
Winners with Eurobodalla Mayor Mathew Hatcher Eurobodalla Libraries spark young writersThe Eurobodalla Libraries' Mayor's Writing Competition fosters a love for reading and writing, creativity, self-expression, and a lifelong appreciation for storytelling. This year's Change theme sparked a surge of creativity, with a record number of entries showcasing the talent of budding authors. The competition encourages aspiring writers to explore their creativity and develop their writing skills. Entries spanned genres from poems to short stories, reflecting unique perspectives. The judging panel of library staff and local writers had the challenging task of selecting winners from the exceptional entries. Winners and finalists were celebrated at an awards ceremony hosted by Moruya Library and the Mayor.
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Mini film festival at Marrickville Pavilion Young Creatives Awards 2023 at Inner WestThe Young Creatives Awards is in its seventh year and more popular than ever. For the 2023 awards we received over 400 entries from young people aged 12-24 years who submitted work that draws inspiration from the Inner West Library collection. In addition to the art and writing categories, this year we introduced a short
film category. We were excited to see a diverse collection of films entered. No film festival would be complete without a red carpet and entrants were delighted to pose with their friends and family upon entry. The evenings were a fun celebration of the creative talent that lives in our community. All the shortlisted film, writing and art entries are on our website.
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Our colourful new mobile library van
Kempsey Library out and about
Kempsey Library’s new mobile library van goes on the road three days a week, visiting seven small local schools, one preschool and two beachside villages each fortnight. The schools really appreciate the van visits and the children LOVE it.
The van also attends community events and the feedback has been fabulous. The latest event was It’s OK on the Macleay, an annual event that celebrates diversity and fosters LGBTIQ+ inclusion in the Macleay Valley and wider Mid North Coast community.
Over 400 people attended the event. Our van driver Tash and her daughter Hope did a wonderful job interacting and making badges with the community. The van and colourful beanbags added a nice splash of colour to an already colourful event. Tash even switched into full library mode and booted up the computer to loan some books to a keen attendee.
Natasha Harris and Jennie Masters, Kempsey Shire Libraries
Fribbit is the mascot for the Year One Reading Club Connecting with The Hills Shire communityThe Hills Shire Library Service has been busy with several community engagement programs. The Year One Reading Club has been a staple program since 1999. A special club for Year One students aimed at encouraging a love of reading in a fun and innovative way. This year was one of our most successful – 800 children joined the club and borrowed 28,895 items! Our Feast of Speakers presentation has enjoyed another strong year with best-selling writers including Belinda Alexandra, Sophie Cunningham, Jane Caro, Sophie Green, Amanda Hampson, Natasha Lester and Judy Nunn visiting Castle Hill Library to showcase their literary talents and entertain our community. The Hills Shire Library Service participated in a scavenger hunt in a local shopping centre. Participants received maps with clues and had to find the way through the centre. Children enjoyed following the clues to the library, with over 500 participants finding their way to the library!
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Our Mighty Playwrights and mentors for 2023 Mighty playwrights at GoulburnThe Mighty Playwrights program aims to inspire young people to discover the power of their own thoughts and voices through literature, storytelling, and the performing arts. We invited local primary students to work with professional mentors to develop and write short play scripts. Mentoring sessions focused on developing narratives and characters, writing dialogue and stage directions, and using live theatre as a forum for sharing and celebrating the lives and experiences of young people. The scripts were staged and performed by a local theatre company in a short season of public and school performances. The performances included music composed by students from Hume Conservatorium, through a program that sees young students work with mentors to compose pieces inspired by the scripts. Students from Goulburn Regional Art Gallery participated in the program by drawing inspiration from the scripts to create original illustrations that feature in the program and published book.
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Storytime space at our mobile library bus Children's Week at Queanbeyan Town ParkQueanbeyan-Palerang Libraries celebrated Children's Week at the Queanbeyan Town Park on Saturday 28 October 2023 with other local organisations and many happy families. Focusing on this year's theme Children have the right to relax, play and take part in activities they enjoy, the mobile library promoted reading and ran storytime sessions in collaboration with Council's Community Team, sharing stories and learning about the craftsmanship and sounds of the didgeridoo. It was lovely to see some familiar faces at the event and we are always excited when we can show members of the community the great resources we have to offer.
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An escapee at our 'Have You Seen This Wizard?' wall Back to Hogwarts at Waverley LibraryOn Thursday 5 October, Waverley Library invited all witches, wizards and muggles to celebrate Harry Potter Day. We hosted a magical morning of crafts and activities, including a Marauders Map scavenger hunt, a 3D augmented reality station where kids could colour in a fire-breathing dragon and watch it come to life, a green screen photo wall, a wand-making station, and paper crafts. We also had a games corner featuring miniature Quidditch, a Free Dobby Sock Toss, Elder Wand Ring Toss and Pin-the-nose on Voldemort. We loved seeing all the Potterheads light up at each station. One lovely patron wrote in to say that Harry Potter Day had exceptional preparation, creativity, and an engaging and calm atmosphere. While we don't know about calm, it was definitely a fun morning had by all. Mischief managed!
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